Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Heroes of Newerth dev announces new MOBA Strife

They're everywhere.

Heroes of Newerth developer S2 Games has announced a new free-to-play MOBA called Strife.

S2 said Strife fuses community-driven gameplay with mechanics that make teamwork easy and rewarding.

"S2 Games has been in the MOBA market from its inception," said S2 Games boss Marc DeForest.

"Since then, we've learned a great deal about this maturing genre through a wide range of analytical studies and experience. For Strife, we want to take MOBAs to the next level, utilising our resources to blend the processes of game development and player engagement to create a more enjoyable experience that grows the community and evolves the idea of what MOBAs can be."

Strife encourages cooperation and rewards players for team collaboration, S2 said. The developer also hopes to "make strides" in MOBA storytelling, with a backstory to help players connect with heroes.

The game is due out this winter. You can put your name down for an invitation to the closed beta on the Strife website.

S2 now has two MOBA's on the go: Heroes of Newerth and Strife. The genre is currently one of the most popular in the world, with League of Legends (Riot Games) and Dota 2 (Valve) attracting millions of players each month.

A number of publishers are jumping on the bandwagon, including Warner Bros. with Infinite Crisis, Sega with Total War: Arena and Deep Silver with Dead Island spin-off Epidemic.

Blizzard, whose RTS Warcraft spawned the genre with Defence of the Ancients, has its own MOBA in the works. The company is expected to reveal Blizzard All-Stars later this year.

Watch on YouTube